UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's team in the 23rd annual 4-H Forestry Invitational this summer finished higher than any Keystone State team ever.

The four-day event was held at Jackson's Mill State 4-H Conference Center near Weston, W. Va. The Pennsylvania team, made up of four teen-agers and four adult volunteers, finished sixth out of 16 teams.

Team members were Chad Atwood, 17, of Warren County; Emily Dunkerton, 15, of McKean County; Candy Eggler, 18, of Clinton County; and Rick Hecker, 14, of Clinton County.

The team was coached by Dave Miller of Warren, Pa. Other adults involved in training and coaching the youths were Pam Snook of Sugar Valley, Ann Dunkerton of Smethport and Bob Domville of Warren.

Team members earned the right to represent Pennsylvania at the invitational by scoring in the top four at the state contest held at Laurel Haven, Pa., in May. For these young adults, the opportunity to compete at the invitational rewards years of hard work in 4-H forestry and other conservation-related projects and club activities.

The event, which is sponsored by International Paper Foundation, is composed of a number of individual and team events. These include tree identification, tree measurement, forest insect and disease identification, compass traverse, topographic map use, forest stand evaluation, and the forestry bowl -- a fast-paced event fashioned after popular television quiz shows.

Invitational participants also test their knowledge of forestry facts in a written examination. The students compete for individual high scores and overall team awards.

The team from Alabama took top honors at the invitational. Alabama also had the top three individual high scorers. A team from Arkansas earned second place and Louisiana placed third.

4-H is the youth education program of cooperative extension. Curriculum is now available for youth, ages 8-18, in the areas of natural resources (forestry, wildlife and water) conservation. The curricula address many of the new state academic standards in environment and ecology.

4-H always is looking for adult volunteers and club leaders. For more information, contact Sanford Smith, Penn State School of Forest Resources, Extension Specialist in Natural Resources and Youth, at 814-863-0401 or sss5@psu.edu, or visit the Penn State Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Web site at http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: Contact Sandy Smith at 814-863-0401 or sss5@psu.edu.

Contact: Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-863-9877 fax #266